The present invention relates to a moving object restorer for restoring a moving object to an original position.
FIGS. 24A to 24C show a conventional restoring process for restoring a moving object. As shown in FIG. 24A, a moving object 103 or rocket is set in a shooter 101 disposed in an original position W. In this state, a regulator 105 connected with the moving object 103 by a cord 106 is stayed at a first position P1 on a rail 104 along which the regulator 105 runs, and the cord 106 is entirely loosened. After being shot by the shooter 101, the moving object 103 flies toward a terminal position O where a target 102 is disposed as shown in FIG. 24B. The moving object 103 is restored from the terminal position O to the original position W by moving the regulator 105 from the first position P1 to a second position P2 to thereby pull the cord 106 as shown in FIG. 24C. Indicated at 107 is a detector for detecting the presence of the moving object 103 at the original position W.
In the restorer, the cord 106 has a length longer than a necessary length to ensure free fly of the moving object 103. As shown in FIG. 24B, even in the state in which the moving object 103 reaches the target 102, the cord 106 has a loosing portion. To compensate for this loosing portion in the restoration, accordingly, it is required to make the running range between the first position P1 and the second position P2 longer than a necessary range. In some cases, the second position P2 on the rail 104 is beyond the terminal position O, consequently increasing the length of the rail 104. This increase will undesirably increase the entire size of an assembly, such as game machine, accommodating the moving object restorer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a moving object restorer which is free of the problems residing in the prior art.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a moving object restorer is provided with a slender connecting member having one end held at a fixed position and the other end connected with a moving object, a guiding member fixedly provided between the moving object and the fixed position for guiding the slender connecting member, and a regulator movably provided between the guiding member and the fixed position and having a holder portion for holding the slender connecting member slidably. The regulator is movable between a first position for allowing the moving object to be moved and a second position for holding the moving object in a restored position. The moving object is moved in a restoring direction by moving the regulator in the direction opposite to the restoring direction.
These and other objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments/examples.